Factions jockey for position in Lebanon County Republican Committee races

While primary election coverage has focused on larger profile contests for offices such as governor and the state Legislature, some of the more interesting races on the ballot in Lebanon County are for Republican Committee seats, where a shift of power may be in the making.

The Lebanon County Republican Committee is divided into eight geographic districts comprising 55 precincts. Each precinct has three representatives for a total of 165 rank-and-file committee members whose seats come up for a vote every two years during the spring primary.

A simple look at the number of candidates running for the committee, 223, provides a good clue that something is afoot. In year's past, many seats went vacant for lack of candidates, as they routinely do in the Lebanon County Democratic Committee, where just 33 candidates are on the ballot for its 165 seats.

It's revealing to first start with examining those Republicans who are not on the ballot. Forty-six incumbents are not seeking re-election. Replacing them and filling 11 currently vacant seats guarantees a committee turnover of more than 33 percent.

But there is a potential for a much higher turnover because the 108 incumbents seeking re-election are outnumbered by 115 challengers on the ballot.

Not every incumbent is facing a challenge, however. There are several precincts, including Lebanon's First Ward and Myerstown North, where incumbents' seats are safe because they face no challengers.

Of the 55 districts in play, there are competitive races in 36, pitting 83 incumbents against 94 challengers.

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So, simply by the numbers, a turnover of well more than 50 percent on the county Republican Committee is not out of the question.

Of course, there is more to it than that. Politics are involved, as a brief refresher course in GOP committee history makes clear.

For many years, the general committee was controlled by longtime Republican Party loyalists and local elected officials who served on the executive committee. It was these core leaders, such as David "Chip" Brightbill and Mike Long, who steered the party by recruiting candidates, deciding endorsements, raising money and running campaigns.

That began to change six years ago, when the tide of power in the local GOP committee started to shift from the old guard to a new breed of political reformers, whose roots can be traced to the anti-incumbency fervor following the controversial midnight legislative pay grab in 2005.

Labeled in articles as "Republican Rebels," in some ways they were a precursor to today's Tea Party movement because their beliefs were grounded in the Constitution and they opposed backroom decision-making and other politics-as-usual practices.

In 2008, these grassroots Republicans gained about 40 seats on the county committee. It was not enough to wrestle control from the existing power base, but it was enough to gain a voice in how the local party operated.

Ousted in that 2010 election were some longtime GOP committee leaders, including former chairs Long and Redith Snoberger, state committee representative Larry Hess and Treasurer Bob Mettley.

Long has since regained his district seat and is a member of the party's executive committee. Mettley has not regained his committee seat, but he is one of 12 at-large members on the executive committee. Both are running for committee next Tuesday, as is Hess.

The real shift in power started when former party Chairwoman Faith Bender announced her resignation in September 2010, and citing party bylaws, named Vice Chairman Adam Gingrich as successor.

Not everyone agreed that the party's bylaws automatically appointed the vice chairman to fill a vacancy in the chairmanship. A struggle ensued over who should take over the seat, with the committee divided between Gingrich and Pat Braden.

Gingrich, son of Rep. Mauree Gingrich of the 101st House District, was more in line with the party's traditional power base, while Braden represented the Tea Party newcomers.

After a lengthy dispute that split the local committee and eventually involved the Republican state committee, Gingrich bowed out in April 2011, leaving the position to Braden who has held it ever since.

Braden recognizes her days in the leadership may be numbered. She said she is aware that there is an organized effort by the Lebanon County Young Republicans organization to have an influx of new committee members. She noted that many of the group's leaders, including Chairman Joshua Golgowski, District Attorney David Arnold and Mike Long's son, Casey Long, circulated nominating petitions for a number of candidates.

The Lebanon County Young Republicans is separate from the county Republican Committee but is affiliated with it. Many members of the Young Republicans already occupy county committee seats, and the organization has one seat, occupied by Casey Long, on the 40-member executive committee.

What Braden is not certain of is how many candidates on the ballot were recruited to run by the YRs, and how many made the decision on their own. It might be a 50-50 split, she said.

"I think the large number of candidates is an effect of a couple of different things," she said. "I think people do get encouraged after working for a campaign and want to get on the committee. But I think there are also other folks who would like to go back to the pre-2011 period of the Lebanon County Republican Committee."

Golgowski acknowledged he and members of the Young Republicans have recruited dozens of friends to serve on the county Republican Committee. But it is less of an internal power grab, he said, than it is an effort to increase the Young Republicans' influence in local elections.

"One of my goals as chairman of the Young Republicans is to increase our role in local politics," said Goglgowski, who also serves on the Lebanon School Board. "I wanted to position our club as one of the most active political organizations in the county."

Golgowski said it would be wrong to make too much of the YRs endorsement of incumbent Mauree Gingrich over John Dissinger in the 101st District. Dissinger supported Arnold's opponent in the DA's race, Elizabeth Judd, and is aligned with Braden's faction of the party, which did not endorse any candidate in the 101st.

"You can't read anything into the endorsement of Mauree Gingrich," Golgowski said. "She is an excellent candidate who has accomplished a lot during her time in the House and deserved our support. It is just a further argument that we want to figure into local politics."

Golgowski added that the YR committee was very active in supporting Arnold's re-election as district attorney and wants to build on that momentum.

"Our goal is to increase participation, so we recruited high quality people across the wards and districts who are relatively well known and respected," he said.